"U.S. Military Precariously Unprepared for Climate Threats"

"A string of climate-related disasters that crippled the strategic capability of multiple U.S military bases in recent years has exposed the military's vulnerability to extreme weather, putting a spotlight on its failure to prepare and the consequences to national security.

Offutt Air Force base in Nebraska, home to the U.S. Strategic Command, was incapacitated by historic flooding that swept through the Midwest in March. More than 130 structures were destroyed, and the cost of rebuilding has hit $1 billion and could go higher.

Hurricane Michael, a monster Category 5 storm, wiped out Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida in 2018, damaging 17 grounded F-22 stealth fighters and causing an estimated $5 billion in damage. Heat illnesses in the military are also rising, putting service members' lives at risk, a 2019 investigation by InsideClimate News and NBC News showed."

David Hasemyer reports for InsideClimate News December 23, 2019.

Source: InsideClimate News, 12/24/2019